Baldur’s Gate 3: How To Unlock Balthazar’s Secret Room & Get The Shadow Lantern

There’s a special artifact in Baldur’s Gate 3 that only Gale can unlock in a secret room of Moonrise Towers. The villainous headquarters of the Cult of the Absolute are free for you to explore thanks to the parasite wriggling around in your head, and one of the most notable locations is the first-floor quarters of Balthazar. The castle’s resident Necromancer is off on an important mission for General Thorm, leaving his quarters empty. The area is trapped and filled with secrets. If you explore thoroughly, you can unlock a hidden room with useful information and a powerful new item called the Shadow Lantern. Learn how to unlock the door and how to craft the Shadow Lantern below.

How To Solve The Puzzle In Balthazar’s Quarters

Balthazar’s Quarters are on the First Floor of Moonrise Towers, down the hallway from Z’rell’s desk. Enter the quarters with the key she’ll give you if you do as requested and prove your loyalty to the Absolute.

Inside his chamber, you’ll find a Moonlantern. On the back-left wall, there is a large bookcase with multiple notable books that will be highlighted if you pass a Perception Check. If you press the wrong Protruding Book set a different trap will activate. Only one of these selections will work.

• How To Open The Secret Room: Use the Protruding Book set on the right side of the bookshelf. This is the third selection from the bottom, or second from the top. Use it and a [click] sound will occur.
• Collect the Heart item from the altar in the center of the room.
• Interact with the small altar with skull symbols to the right of the bookshelf.
• Place the Heart in the item slot and select [Insert].

This will unlock the secret room. There’s a lot of useful information here and a powerful new artifact we can unlock with Gale.

How To Get The Shadow Lantern

Inside the secret room, you’ll find the following unique interactable objects. The first is the Ritual Circle.

• Ritual Circle: Found on the glowing desk in the chamber. Examine the skull symbol with Gale in your party and he will be able to identify it.
• Using Gale, you can craft a unique Moonlantern that wields the power of the Shadow. If you encourage him to create it, you’ll begin the ‘Balthazar’s Experiment’ companion quest.
• To craft the Shadow Lantern, collect a Broken Lantern and a Dead Pixie from the desk.
• Interact with the Ritual Circle and place the Broken Lantern and Dead Pixie into the two slots. Press [Combine] to create the Shadow Lantern.

The Shadow Lantern is a powerful item that can conjure a Wraith. This is a Level 6 Spell and extremely powerful at this point in the story.

• Shadow Lantern: 0~5 Damage. Conjure Shadow Lantern Wraith Level 6 Necromancy Spell.

Creating this item will (likely) anger Mystra. For now. She won’t immediately punish Gale or the player. You can also find important notes and a magic item in the nearby treasure chest.

• Research Notes: Read the Research Notes to learn that the item critical to Ketheric is the Nightsong. It is located at the bottom of the Thorm Mausoleum — the entrance is far north of the town, past the House of Healing.

• Coldbrim Hat: Moonrise Towers, First Floor – Locked in the Opulent Chest in Balthazar’s secret chamber in his quarters. Solve the puzzle in his room to unlock the interior.
• Uncommon Hat. Coldbrim Chill: Once per turn, any condition inflicted on a target, also applies 2 turns of Encrusted with Frost.

That’s everything you can find in this secret (and grisly) room.